At least six explosions were heard in Odesa, according to Ukrainian parliament member Oleksiy Goncharenko.
It comes a day after ministers from Ukraine and Russia signed a deal — brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in Istanbul — to allow grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports aimed at easing the global food crisis caused by from the war.
“This is all you need to know about deals with Russia,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas added on Twitter. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said the bloc “strongly condemns” the attack.
“Hitting a crucial wheat export target a day after the signing of the Istanbul accords is particularly reprehensible and once again demonstrates Russia’s total disregard for international law and commitments,” Borrell tweeted on Saturday.
“Russia agreed to an agreement on the export of wheat, but immediately after that attacked it – showing that they want to continue to threaten the food security of the world,” Ukrainian parliament member Oleksiy Goncharenko said in an interview with CNN on Saturday.
“There will be new campaigns where [Putin] is definitely going to attack Odesa, and the world’s only response to that is to give Ukraine weapons – finally give Ukraine long-range missiles, fighters. And this is the only answer to this aggression by Putin and to restore the international order”, he said.
The attacks hit a pumping station at the port, Serhii Bratchuk, spokesman for the Odesa regional military administration, said on Saturday.
“Today, 4 missiles hit Odesa. Thank God that our air defense forces destroyed 2 incoming missiles. Two more missiles flew into the port, into the infrastructure facility,” Bratchuk said in an interview with Ukrainian media. “This is a pumping station, which is located on the territory of the port of Odesa.”
Bratchuk said there were no casualties and that the grain stored there was not damaged. He also said the attacks were launched from a warship.
‘wild’ attack
Russia has so far blocked sea access to those ports, meaning millions of tons of Ukrainian grain have not been exported to many countries that rely on it.
“Today, there is a beacon in the Black Sea. A beacon of hope — a beacon of opportunity — a beacon of relief — in a world that needs it more than ever,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday at the signing ceremony, attended by Ukrainian and Russian ministers.
But Saturday’s attack led to anger and concern about the future of that deal.
“This is all you need to know about the “deals” with the Russians. Explosions at the #Odesa seaport. One day after the agreement with #Turkey and the #UN was signed on the re-export of #Ukraine’s #grain under which #Russia is committed not to bomb the port,” Ukrainian parliament member Solomiia Bobrovska wrote on Twitter.
Brachuk has advised residents to stay in shelters while aerial alerts continue.
“This was a glimmer of hope,” Samantha Power, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, said Saturday about the wheat deal.
“Now, we just get word that Russian forces have bombed Odesa’s port infrastructure, the very port infrastructure needed to get these grains out into the Black Sea,” Power said.
“This is grotesque and is just the latest indication of the cold indifference that Vladimir Putin has to the cost of the war in Ukraine — a man-made war that he created for no reason; the cost in Ukraine of human life there; and the effects of rippled across the world,” she said.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday that Russia claimed it had “nothing to do” with the attacks.
“The Russians told us in no uncertain terms that they have nothing to do with this attack. They are monitoring the situation closely and in detail,” Akar said in a video statement.
“We are very concerned by the fact that such an event happened after we signed the agreement on grain shipments. We are worried too. But we continue to fulfill our responsibilities for this agreement and we have also expressed in our meetings that we are in favor of the parties. to continue their cooperation here calmly and patiently,” said Akar, who represented Turkey at the signing of the wheat deal in Istanbul on Friday.
Akar also said that Turkey received information about the attacks from Ukraine and “then we talked by phone with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, with whom we were already in contact.”
“They stated that one of the missile strikes hit one of the silos there, and the other fell in an area near the silo, but the important thing is that there is no problem with the loading capacity and the capability of the docks. and that the activities there can continue”, he said.
